While the electric crossover market now feels thoroughly oversaturated like a garden after a week of thunderstorms, the 2026 Nissan Leaf feels like one that’s worth looking forward to. We already know it looks like a funky crossover coupe and features a fairly handsome interior, but specifications were a bit vague until now. Fortunately, further details have since been released, and on paper, this Leaf reboot seems rather competitive.
Every trim but the base model gets a 75 kWh liquid-cooled battery pack sending power to a 160 kW electric motor. With this powertrain configuration and the 18-inch steel wheels with full covers included in the S+ trim, Nissan’s targeting 303 miles of EPA range, a properly respectable figure.
Admittedly, range drops off to 288 miles in the SV+ and 259 miles in the Platinum+ trim, possibly due in part to different wheel packages, but sometimes that’s the price of appearances. Of course, the base model’s smaller 52 kWh battery pack and 130 kW electric motor don’t have an announced range yet, but I’d expect it to be considerably less than 300 miles, considering it features almost a third less energy capacity.
That’s batteries and motors sorted, what about charging the new Leaf? Here’s where things get a bit unusual, because Nissan is equipping this thing with both a J1772 port and a NACS port. Keep in mind, the J1772 port doesn’t support DC fast charging, but it does offer vehicle-to-load capability, and it’ll be good for Level 1 and Level 2 charging. The Tesla-style NACS port will support DC fast charging at up to 150 kW, decent enough for an entry-level EV.
Because the new Leaf is an entry-level EV, some stuff that you might actually want comes locked to the higher trim levels and isn’t available on the S+ model with the longest range. Features like a heat pump for improved cool weather performance, rear seat air-con vents, rear USB-C charging ports, a wireless phone charger, a clever cargo divider, an audio system with more than just four speakers, and the bigger 14.3-inch screens. However, even the base model gets dual 12.3-inch screens for the infotainment and gauges, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, LED lighting, a robust suite of advanced driver assistance systems, and 10 airbags.
However, if you do want to splash the cash on the top trim, you are going to get some nice toys in exchange for the range hit of that model. Stuff like a Bose 10-speaker audio system, a heated steering wheel, heated rear seats, a power liftgate, and an electrochromic dimming panoramic moonroof like you get in a Maybach. Yeah, we really have come a long way since 2010, when the first Leaf rolled off the line.
Other than the range of the 52 kWh base model, there’s one thing we don’t know yet: Pricing. Expect Nissan to reveal more about just how much the 2026 Leaf costs closer to its on-sale date this autumn. If it works out to be competitive with models like the 319-mile, $34,995 Chevrolet Equinox EV, there’s a good chance Nissan could have a hit with this thing.
Top graphic image: Nissan
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“While the electric crossover market now feels thoroughly oversaturated like a garden after a week of thunderstorms”
Does it? Where is.my PHEV/EREV crossover with 50+ miles of range on battery only and ICE for another 400 miles on 8 gallons of regular? All for < $25k*.
*So I can buy one in 5 years for <$10k.
Call me stupid, but if I buy an EV, wouldn’t I want it to be as free as possible of electricity-gobbling options? Like heated steering wheel?
I mean, gloves are pretty cheap.
Heated surfaces use less power than heating all the air in the car, which is the big energy drain in an EV.
I won’t call you stupid, but like Ben said cabin heating is very energy intensive. Occupants can tolerate a cooler cabin if everything they touch (seats and steering wheel) is warm, and that’s a net win for energy consumption!
This will be a great used deal for $5k in 5 years!
From other reporting it seems this is still FWD, which seems to be the biggest flaw. This will be a tough sell without tax credits and against the glutted used EV market and RWD could have made it a bit more premium for free.
Hopefully the liquid cooling is with an interchanger, and not directly with the refrigerant. I know some people liked the simplicity of the air cooled batteries and some people claimed it killed battery life.
Maybe I missed it in the article, but is this going to be a liquid cooled battery, or yet another generation of leaf with an air cooled battery?
This one is supposed to be liquid cooled, finally
As long as the batteries will last in this one, they could have something here.
The new Rogue has a great interior for its price point. With no CVT to eat itself nor plasma-coated cylinder liners to wear away, can they avoid a major bugbear?
Find out all about it on our next episode if our plucky Franco-Japanese carmaker, “Made it Like a Tree” or if they,”Get the Fuck Out of Here.”
This already doesn’t seem particularly competitive with the Equinox EV, and the Bolt will likely be an even better value. Seems like this needs to be priced in the high 20s for the S+, and at most mid 20s for the S. 147hp and 200 miles of range just isn’t competitive – that seems like a trim that will last for a year and then get dropped.
Not sure about the word “promise” but it is certainly “claiming” it.
Just as every other auto company does.
Also, “Nissan Turning Over a New Leaf” was right there for the taking.
“Also, “Nissan Turning Over a New Leaf” was right there for the taking.”
Definitely a Missed Opportunity.
I had a 2021 Toyota Venza with an electrochromic roof. I didn’t seek the feature out, but it was at the start of the supply chain shortages so I took the car I could get.
Turned out that was probably my favorite thing about the car. On previous sunroof cars we usually kept the shade closed if it was sunny to avoid cooking the interior or getting blinded. On the Venza the shade was always open, the opaque roof let just the right amount of light into an otherwise cave-like interior. When it was dreary outside or we were somewhere scenic we pressed the button and the roof went (mostly) transparent. As a bonus, when the solar eclipse came though you could view it through the Venza roof.
The only downside? The roof took a rock on the highway and cracked. It was still drivable, leak free, and it still worked – but it took two months (and something like $8000 from insurance) to have the roof replaced.
It’s got all the bloated proportions of a CUV with none of the cargo space!
That is completely misunderstanding the assignment.
How much would I save by not having stupid features like this, and just have a normal roof?
A lot, but that would save Nissan the trouble of making more profit.
I know some of us are still sore about not getting the iDX. But if you squint hard enough and possibly have a mild case of pink eye you’re 20 percent there, probably.
I hope this color’s not locked to a higher trim level. Biggest problem with the Ariya is there are too many black ones, with every other color either costing extra or being tied to a higher trim level. Don’t encourage people to buy black cars!
Looks like a prius and an ariya made a baby. In a good way.
That rear end looks like the old Datsun 120Y! Nice!
Not sure if that made it to the US – they very popular here in the UK
I hope this is successful, because it seems like they genuinely tried.
I’m confused. It seems like the new Leaf is basically a 9/10ths scale Ariya. I find it hard to believe it could substantially undercut the Ariya in price given so much of an EV’s cost is the battery.
This vehicle only seems to make sense if Nissan dumps the base model Ariya and sells this in its place. But it would seem to make zero sense for Nissan to build a new Leaf just to replace the base model Ariya. Maybe Nissan intends to dump the Ariya and replace it with something larger or more upmarket? Does Nissan intend to eventually release an even baser model with a smaller battery and lower price?
I loved my OG Leaf so I’m happy the Leaf will live on, but this vehicle seems to come with more questions than answers. I really don’t see how it fits in with Nissan’s EV strategy.
What they’ll probably do is cut way back on Ariya production until supply stabilizes with demand rather than dump them at giveaway lease prices as they have been.
I just have a hard time believing they will sell the Ariya at all when the 3G Leaf is released. I could see the Ariya being canceled or at least replaced with a much nicer model. I don’t think a fancier and more expensive Ariya will sell well, but I could still see Nissan trying one anyway.
The Ariya made sense when sold alongside the 2G Leaf, but it is way too similar to the 3G Leaf to coexist. To me, it seems like the 3G Leaf’s biggest competitor will be the base/midlevel Ariya.
I wonder if this is Nissan admitting the Ariya was a flop and trying to go back with something that worked? The Leaf was successful, even if a lot of that was being the first to the market. If nothing else, maybe Nissan is regretting the name recognition they lost by calling their modern EV the Ariya?
It looks huge! It’s not a Leaf, it’s the whole Branch!
Looking forward to the review. We’ve got some Ariyas on order because my operators like “big” but this might be easier to park without sacrificing ease of ingress/egress.
FWIU it’s actually shorter in length than the outgoing model.
Nissan is really great at making cars look way more obese than they really are for no good reason
I could see this being my next car. I’ve been properly impressed with my 2024 Nissan Ariya and I test-drove a 2025 Leaf and was very pleasantly surprised at how well it compared to my 2023 Polestar 2 in terms of comfort and handling. Nowhere near the amount of power that the Polestar has, but plenty of get up and go from zero to 40 mph. We recently road-tripped the Ariya from CO to UT (~1000 miles round trip) and we had zero issues. The Tesla chargers are AMAZING. I’m no Muskovite, but I plan to only use Tesla chargers whenever possible from now on. They’re more reliable, faster and quieter and not any more expensive than most of the CCS systems that are out there. FWIW, the Ariya only has 150 kW charging speed as well, but charging time is much more correlated with charging curve management and both the Ariya and the Tesla chargers make the most of that relatively slow speed. On a CCS charger (even the “hyper fast” ones), it will easily take an hour to go from 10 – 90% charge, but on the Tesla chargers, we could do that same charge in about 30 minutes.
At the low price-point it should be offered at, I think the new Leaf will be a big hit.
The strange part is the NACS port only supports DC fast charging so any level 1 or 2 charger with a NACS plug requires an adapter to plug into the J1772 port. The trend of missteps on the Leaf’s charging ports lives for another generation.
I’m not sure that’s true. Maybe I missed it I don’t see any indication on the Nissan site that said the NACS port was limited to only fast-charging.
I’ve read elsewhere that this is indeed true, the NACS port is only for DC fast charging. You can see in this photo the charging port says “DC Fast Charge Only.”
I don’t think it’s that big a deal. Technically you should be carrying no more adapters than any other EV equipped with a NACS or CCS port (one for AC charging and one for DC fast charging).
Thanks! That’s interesting and somewhat disappointing, as you say.
I read this article on the charging situation earlier this morning:
https://insideevs.com/news/762582/nissan-leaf-j1772-nacs-slow-charging/
A brand new car that only supports 150kw is pathetic.
That’s the same as the Equinox EV, which only came out last year.
The Equinox has a bit larger 85kWh battery pack and people are getting 10-80% charge times with that 150kW rate cap of around 38min, which isn’t terrible, given the price point.
If you’re going to design your car in the shape of an Easter egg, you’d better paint it in a bright color.
Will Nissan live to see the 2026 model year?
They’ll live, just with a new ownership structure.
I like the rear end and side profile.